Prelude
(In a wooded valley of the Rhine)

Scene 1
(The Three Rhinemaidens swimming at the surface of the water)

The Three Rhinemaidens: The sun is shining, but the light doesn't get to us down here in the water. Once, everything was OK down here, and we were happy. Rheingold! Rheingold! You were the most wonderful thing in the world to us! Weiala leia, wallala leialala! (Siegfried's horn sounds in the distance) Wonderful sunshine! Bring us back our Gold! Send us a hero to get it back for us! If we only had it back, we could have fun again, and enjoy our life, swimming in the Rhine. Rheingold! Rheingold! You were the most wonderful thing in the world to us once! (Siegfried's horn sounds again)

Woglinde: I hear his horn.

Wellgunde: He's on his way.

Floßhilde: Let's surprise him!

(They dive under the water)

Siegfried: (entering) Those directions I got were terrible! I'm lost! (calling out, to no one) Hey! Where did you say that bear was?

The Three Rhinemaidens: (popping out on the water's surface) Siegfried!

Floßhilde: What are you talking about?

Wellgunde: Who are you talking to?

Woglinde: (teasing him) Did somebody trick you?

All Three: Tell us, Siegfried!

Siegfried: (smiling at them) Did you pull my bear into the river with you? Well, you seem to want him more than I do, so I guess you can just keep him! (they all laugh)

Woglinde: What will you give us, if we give him back to you?

Siegfried: I don't have anything, so, I guess, whatever you want.

Wellgunde: You have that ring on your finger.

The Three Rhinemaidens: We'll take that!

Siegfried: I killed a dragon to get that ring. You think I'd trade it for a lousy bear skin?

Woglinde: You're mean!

Wellgunde: Do you bargain this hard with everybody?

Floßhilde: You should be nicer to ladies.

Siegfried: If I gave it to you, my wife would kill me!

Floßhilde: Why? Is she mean, too?

Wellgunde: Does she beat you up?

Woglinde: You're scared of her? When she's this far away from you? (they laugh uncontrollably)

Siegfried: Go ahead, have your fun. But you can just keep wanting this ring; I'm not giving it to you!

Floßhilde: What a hunk!

Wellgunde: He's so strong!

Woglinde: So cute!

The Three: Too bad he's so stuck on himself! (they dive down, laughing)

Siegfried: (coming closer to the water) Why did I let them talk to me that way? Gosh, if they want the ring that bad, I guess I could give it to them. Hey! Girls! Come back! I'll give you the ring! (takes it off his finger and holds it out for them)

(The Rhinemaidens swim back to the surface)

Floßhilde: No, you keep it, and be careful. If you only knew…

Woglinde and Wellgunde: …the power it has.

All Three: Soon, you'd be happy to let us help you get away from its curse.

Siegfried: (putting the Ring back on his finger) Whatever you say.

All Three: Siegfried! Siegfried! Siegfried! Something terrible's going to happen to you.

Wellgunde: If you keep that ring, you're in deep trouble.

All Three: It was made out of our Gold.

Wellgunde: The man who made it, and then foolishly lost it…

All Three: …put a curse on it. Whoever has it is sure to die.

Floßhilde: Just like the dragon you killed…

Wellgunde and Floßhilde: …soon, you'll be killed yourself…

All Three: …and it'll happen today, if you don't give it back to us now…

Wellgunde and Floßhilde: …so we can take it back into the river with us.

All Three: That's the only way to take the curse off of it!

Siegfried: So that's your little game, huh? I wondered what it was from the beginning! Well, don't think for a minute you're going to scare me into giving it to you now!

The Rhinemaidens: Siegfried! Siegfried! We're telling you the truth! You're in trouble! The Norns have seen it; it's your destiny! There's a curse on your Ring!

Siegfried: I don't care about the Norns! They can say whatever they want about my destiny, and weave that little rope of theirs until Hell freezes over. My sword is for killing dragons! It wouldn't have any trouble snapping that string of theirs at all! Fafner told me about that curse, but it doesn't scare me. This ring could get me all the wealth in the world, you know, but - I don't want that. All I want is real, honest love. If you could promise me that, then I'd give you the Ring. But don't threaten me, and expect that you can scare me into giving it to you! I'm not scared of anything, and, without love, my life means about as much to me…(picks up some dirt)…as this! (throws it over his shoulder)

The Rhinemaidens: Let's go, sisters. He's crazy! He thinks he's so strong and powerful that nothing can hurt him! Well, he can just go on believing that! He's so blind, he can't even see reality. He knows we're telling him the truth, but he doesn't even care! That about all we can expect from someone who doesn't keep the promises they make, though!

Floßhilde, then Woglinde: He had everything!

All Three: And he's given it all up!

Floßhilde: The only thing he wants…

Wellgunde: …the thing that'll be his downfall…

All Three: …is the Ring! Goodbye, Siegfried! You wouldn't listen to us, and so you're going to die. At least your wife'll know what to do with what you leave her! She'll listen to us. We're going to go see her now! To Brünnhilde! (singing as they swim off) Weialala leia, wallala leialala…

Siegfried: Women are all the same, whether they live in water or on land! If you don't fall for their flirting, they try to scare and threaten you. And if that doesn't work, they yell at you, like it's all your fault! But, these ones were pretty good-looking; if I didn't have Gutrune waiting for me at home, I'd probably have fallen for one of them! (He looks at them, swimming off in the distance, as we hear a horn call coming closer.)